CHAPTER NINE

The clearing was absolutely silent, broken only by the low rumble of growls coming from Leah. She was posed as though to pounce, her hackles raised and her eyes focused purely on Edward. I trotted back to her and playfully head-butted her.

Chill out, Leah. It'll be fine. And if I can think that, so can you. I repeated her words back to her jokingly. She relaxed slightly and grinned a strange wolf smile.

The bloodsucker would have killed you, Jacob. Excuse me for getting angry.

He wouldn't have killed me. I'm too tough for that.

Across the clearing, Edward snorted. Laughing inwardly, I took my place next to Sam again. Carlisle stepped forward and addressed Sam, looking to Edward for translation.

"Sam, we know that this alliance with your pack is a shaky one. What just happened proved that. But the Volturi are more dangerous in a fight than anything you will have come up against. We need to know that we can trust you."

I growled low. Sam silenced me with a look.

As long as Nessie and Jake are still alive, we are bound to protect you. You have our word.

"As long as Renesmee and that bastard are still alive, they'll protect us," Edward stated blandly. I snarled ferociously and took a step forward menacingly.

Jacob! Stand down! Now!

I couldn't disobey a direct order from Sam, no matter how much I wanted to. I stepped back in line with Sam and contented myself with staring daggers at Edward.

"Okay. I suppose that's all we can ask for," Carlisle said.

Rosalie's boyfriend, the big, brawny one, stepped forward.

"And if Jacob is killed in the fight? What then, you're just going to turn on us as well?" he demanded. "This is bogus, Carlisle, we can't trust them."

If Jacob is killed in the fight, we will keep fighting the Volturi to protect the rest of us. We won't be doing it for you, but I will give you our word that we will not harm a Cullen.

Until the fight is over... I thought menacingly. Edward displayed no emotion as he relayed Sam's message to Carlisle and Emmett, but I knew he had heard me.

"Happy, Emmett?" Carlisle asked. Emmett nodded reluctantly, and moved back to Rosalie.
"Right, then. If we've got our differences sorted, we should coordinate. If this comes down to a fight, you need to know how to block their powers."

Can't Bella just use her shield thing?

"Black wants to know if Bella will be protecting us," Edward relayed. I noted the use of my surname, amused.

"She can," Carlisle answered. "But it's a big ask. To sustain a shield of that magnitude takes a lot of endurance. Not to mention that it will be incredibly difficult to distinguish between our forces ad theirs when we're fighting at close range."

"Bella doesn't have to do that. We'll be fine without a shield." Edward said tightly, holding Bella close to him.

What's the matter, leech? I mocked. Still afraid to let Bella think for herself?

Edward's lips tightened and he turned his head slowly towards me.

"Edward!" Carlisle said warningly. Edward clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth.

Jake, just leave it, okay? Sam thought wearily. You do have to work with the guy.

As that was an order, I fell silent and didn't "speak" to Edward directly again. Meanwhile, Carlisle was detailing each of the Volturi's powers.

"The most dangerous power belongs to Alec. He can cut off every single one of your senses and leave you paralysed, unable to see, hear or feel anything. Then they can kill you without a fight. The only way I can think of to avoid that is Bella shielding us."

We'll just take him out first. Simple.

Edward laughed derisively. "Good luck getting near him, dog."

What if we have the element of surprise? They probably don't know that we've been bound to help you. I bet they think it'll be an easy fight. Even if Bella protects you lot, they're stronger than you.

"Bullshit! We can take them!" Emmett cried, flexing his muscles, after Edward relayed my message. I rolled my eyes and continued.

The point is, if we attack from every angle, without them expecting it, we'll gain the advantage. If we can get this Alec down first, we should be able to target Jane and Aro fairly easily.

Edward cocked his head and seemed interested as he repeated my plan.

"It'll be anything but easy, Jacob," Carlisle smiled. "But your idea is good. They will want to negotiate first. That gives us time to see if they will leave us be."

I shook my head. You know they won't.

Edward half-smiled. "He says they won't."

Carlisle nodded. "Then we'll fight. We can gain the upper hand quickly, if we are lucky. Jane and Alec must be the first targets. Then the only other member who can stop us attacking is Renata, and she will not unless Aro is under direct threat."

Okay. Sam thought to the pack. This is our order. Jacob and I will go for Alec. Leah and Paul, you go for Jane. While we still have the element of surprise, Seth and Jared will attack Renata to leave Aro vulnerable. Quil and Embry will go for Demetri...

Sam handed out our victims like they were a class assignment. I shivered at the thought of Leah going up against Jane and her torture.

Hey, Jake! Stop imagining me getting tortured. It's giving me a bad feeling about this! Leah thought to me sarcastically. Chill, man. We've got this. They're just filthy leeches.

I forced myself to stop the sick images floating in my mind.

Sorry. I thought guiltily. I don't want her to hurt you, that's all.

Paul started making gagging noises through his thoughts and mimed vomiting in his wolf form. Quil, Embry and Jared all laughed in their thoughts. Leah responded by playfully nipping Paul on his right flank, causing him to yelp in mock pain. We all joined in the mock melee, with Sam looking on, rolling his wolf eyes.

"Carlisle!" a strangled voice from the edge of the clearing stopped our playfulness. It was Alice, and she looked terrified. "Carlisle, they're here. They're less than a minute away."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Sam was issuing orders to us. He told us to get into the trees and spread out around the clearing in our pairs. We blended into the environment perfectly, like the predators we were. We stayed in our ordered pairs, ready to orient ourselves to our targets, when they arrived. I sniffed the air and caught a whiff of the foul smell carried only by bloodsuckers, though different enough to not get confused with the Cullens.

I can smell them! They're getting closer.

I smell it too. Get ready to change positions, everybody.

The smell drew closer very fast. They would be running, led by Demetri, their famous tracker.

Sam and I melted back behind leaves as we glimpsed them striding towards the clearing. Demetri was in the lead, walking with purpose as he knew he had found his prey. The vampires were so intent on the scent of the Cullens they didn't even register ours. We stole forwards carefully so we could see and hear what was happening in the clearing. We stopped and waited for the Volturi to make their entrance. The silky soft voice of Aro was the first thing we heard.

"My dear friend Carlisle...I am afraid it's been too long since we last met..."